Insulator-support.



Patented Nov. 5, I901.

F. M. LUCKE.

. UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIcE.

FRED M. LOCKE, OF VICTOR, NEXV YORK.

INSULATOR-SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 685,776, datedNovember 5, 1901.

Application filed July 22, 1901. Serial No.69,228. (No model.)

To alt whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED M. LOOKE, of Victor, in the county of Ontario,in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements inInsulator-Supports, of which the following, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in insulator-supports, havingparticular reference to the means for fastening or looking the insulatorthereto.

The object of this invention is to produce a simple and practical devicefor holding or supporting insulators in operative position without theuse of threads either upon the insulator or support.

A further object is to so construct and arrange the parts of theinsulator-support as to permit the insulators to be quickly and securelymounted thereon or attached thereto. It is well known that in themanufacture of threaded insulators one of the most expensive steps inthe process is the formation of the internal threads, and that even whenformed with considerable care the unequal shrinkage and irregularity inthe formation of the threads renders it diificult to secure theinsulator upon the threaded support and frequently results in eitherbreaking the insulator or its support, and, on the other hand, it it isnot uncommon to find this class of insulators insecurely mounted upontheir supports, owing to the imperfect mesh of the threads with thesupport.

Myinvention is designed to overcome these difliculties; and it consistsin the construction, combination, and arrangement as an insulator-support, as hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are vertical sectional views,partly in elevation, of the preferred form of my improvedinsulator-support, showing the method of securing the insulator thereto.Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the detached support, and Fig. 4 is anelevation of a slightly-modified form of my invention.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

This invention consists, essentially, of an expansible head 1 and atapering member 2,

movable in said head for the purpose of expanding the walls of the headinto engagement with the insulator.

The head 1 may be of any desired size or material and is preferably ofsuch form as to permit its walls to be expanded by the length wisemovement of the tapering member 2, and may, if desired, beslitlongitudinally for permitting the walls to readily expand. As seenin Figs. 1, 2, and 3, this expansible head forms a part of a hollowmember or sleeve 3, which may be mounted upon any desired support, as anarm 4, the upper expansible end of this sleeve being adapted to receiveany form of insulator, as 5, having a longitudinal socket 6, the wallsof said socket being substantially smooth or unprovided with anyinternal projections or threads in order to simplify and cheapen theconstruction of said insulator.

The tapering member 2, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, is preferablyformed integral with a suitable bolt 7, which is extended lengthwisethrough the sleeve 3, its lower end being threaded and provided with aclamping-nut 8 for engaging the adjacent end face of the sleeve, andthereby drawing the tapering head lengthwise of the yielding walls ofthe head 1 for the purpose of expanding said head into engagement withthe walls of the socket of the insulator, whereby the insulator and theexpansible head are firmly secured or locked together. It will beobserved upon reference to Figs. 1 and 2 that the tapering head normallyextends slightly above the upper end of the expansible head 1 in orderthat when the insulator is inserted over the support and forced endwisethe end wall of the socket will engage the tapering member and alsoforce the same endwise, thereby expanding the head 1 into engagementwith the insulator as said insulator is placed in operative position.This is a particularly important feature of my invention, and it will beapparent that by the mere act of placing the insulator over the end ofthe support and forcing the same against the tapering member the head 1will be simultaneously expanded into engagement with the walls of theinsulator and that if desired to further impinge the yielding walls ofthe sleeve 8 against the insulator the nut 8 may be screwed against thelower face of the sleeve, thereby drawing the tapering head inwardly andpermitting the yielding walls of the head 1 to be forced into engagementwith the insulator with as much force as may be desired, the nut 8serving at the same time to hold the tapering member 2 in. its adjustedposition and to'lock the sleeve and plate to each other.

In Fig. t I have shown an expansible head 10 and a tapering member 20,the head 10 being formed with a recess 12 and a depending spindle orshank 13, which is adapted to be secured to any suitable support orcross-arm. In this modified construction it is apparent that when theinsulator is inserted over the support the tapering member may be forcedinwardly, thereby automatically expanding the walls of the head 10 intoengagement with the insulator.

In the operation of my invention the insulator is first slipped over theexpansible head and is forced lengthwise thereof, thereby moving thetapering head inwardly and simultaneously expanding the yielding wallsinto engagement with the walls of the socket of the insulator. After thehead has thus been expanded as much as possible the nut 8 of the bolt 7may be operated to additionally draw the tapering member inwardly,thereby causing the yielding walls to engage the insulator with greaterforce.

The operation of my invention will nowbe readily understood uponreference to the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An insulator-Snpport comprising a sleeve having an expansible head,and a tapering member movable in said head for expanding the same intoengagement with the insulator.

2. Aninsulator-support comprisinga sleeve having expansible walls, and abolt movable in the sleeve and having a tapering portion for engagingthe yielding walls and forcing the same into contact with the insulator.

3. -An insulator-support comprising a sleeve having expansible walls,and a bolt movable in the sleeve and having a tapering portion forengaging the yielding walls and forcing the same into contact with theinsulator-and means for simultaneously actuating the bolt and lockingthe sleeve thereto.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of May,1901.

FRED M. LOCKE.

Witnesses:

O. A. Moons, W. A. II'IGIN'BOTHAM.

